Jiang Dong Shi had no problem with her sister’s mother-in-law. Not to mention that she and her sister didn’t have much affection, she kept inviting her sister to come to cooperate with her husband. Of course, she was doing it for her sister’s good. If she didn’t break her sister’s pride, her sister would have many sad days. It would be better to straighten it out while her sister was young.

Now it seemed that the effect was very good. She thought her younger sister would come to her to complain, but she never came once. Her younger sister’s mother-in-law was indeed as powerful as her mother said!

Jiang Dong Shi smiled and said, “Madam Juren, please get up quickly. We are also family members. Madam, you don’t need to treat us as an outsider.”

She couldn’t bring herself to call her shěnshěn, so “Madam Juren” was just the right name.

Zhulan smiled and sat down. “It’s my first visit and I don’t know what Yiren likes. A few pieces of leather are a token of my appreciation.”

There had been a lot of furs in the house recently, and Zhulan had become more generous. She had some nice furs that were to the girl’s liking and were decent. These mink furs were the best ones.

Jiang Dong Shi really liked it. She knew that the Zhou family had made a fortune in the past few days, so she accepted it with a smile, “Thank you, Madam Juren. I don’t have anything good. I heard from Chuchu that Madam Juren has a daughter. It just so happens that I made two sets of jewelry for my little daughter. I thought Madam Juren would bring her daughter, but you came alone. This set of jewelry can only be taken home by Madam Juren.”

Zhulan stood up and thanked her, without explaining why she came alone. Dong Shi suggested that she take Xue Han with her, but Zhulan disagreed. There was a big gap between the family of a fifth-rank official and that of a seventh-rank official. Dong Shi was cautious with her own nephews and nieces, let alone Xue Han.

Jiang Dong Shi married Jiang Ming and gave birth to two children. They were both young and at the right age to be willful. She didn’t want Xue Han to come and suffer her anger.

Zhulan and Jiang Dong Shi really had nothing to talk about. Their chat pattern was question and answer. When she ran out of questions, she fell silent.

Zhulan didn’t want to find a topic to talk about, because Jiang Dong Shi spoke very cautiously. Zhulan knew that Jiang Dong Shi’s status as a second wife had made her think a lot, and she was afraid that if she said too much, Jiang Dong Shi would think too much, so it was better not to say anything.

Fortunately, Lord Jiang had no intention of keeping Zhou Shuren for dinner, and he let him leave very happily, and Zhulan followed him.

There were no outsiders on the way back, and Zhulan took a deep breath, “Jiang Dong Shi and Dong Shi have two different personalities. Although she didn’t talk much, it felt too depressing.”

Zhou Shuren held Zhulan’s hand and said, “We are leaving too. We won’t come to their house again in the future.”

Zhulan really didn’t want to wait at the Jiang family’s door any longer, “Yeah.”

Zhou Shuren asked worriedly, “Did Jiang Dong Shi make things difficult for you?”

Zhulan shook her head, “No, she was very kind to me.”

Zhou Shuren didn’t ask any more questions, as long as Zhulan didn’t get upset.

After returning home, Zhulan gave the jewelry she brought back to Xue Han, “Jiang Yiren gave it to you, keep it for yourself.”

Xue Han accepted it happily. The jewelry was not expensive but exquisite, and embellished with precious stones, which made it the little girl’s favorite.

When Dong Shi saw her mother-in-law smiling, she felt relieved. She was glad that her sister didn’t embarrass her mother-in-law. Otherwise, her sister would be the one who was really harming her!

On the second day, Zhou Shuren went to see Zhao Bo, who was also the runner-up and ranked eighth. Zhou Shuren passed the exam, so Zhao Bo sent someone to deliver a gift. Zhou Shuren also gave Zhao Bo a gift.

This was the first time they met after passing the imperial examination.

Zhou Shuren didn’t come back until the afternoon. Zhulan knew that Zhou Shuren was asking when Zhao Bo was going to the capital. “What did Zhao Bo say?”

Zhou Shuren smiled and said, “He knows I’m going to the capital early, so he wants to go with us.”

Zhulan: “That’s great. The more people there are, the safer the road will be.”

Zhou Shuren paused and said, “Tomorrow you go to the Wu family and ask Wu Li Shi if Wu Ming wants to go with us.”

Zhulan smiled and said, “Okay.”

Even if Zhou Shuren didn’t mention it, she would have gone to the Wu family to ask. It would be a shame to miss the chance to gain a favor.

The next morning, Zhulan went to the Wu family and said, “Aunt, we plan to leave for the capital in a few days. My husband asked me to ask you if your Wu Ming wants to go to the capital in advance.”

Wu Li Shi was surprised and asked, “Are you planning to go to the capital in advance?”

“Yes, we want to go to the capital before winter comes, to avoid the difficulty of traveling after the New Year. It is also easy to get sick if the weather is too cold. We have finally passed the imperial examination, and we can’t fall ill again in the capital. Fortunately, my family has a house in the capital, so if we go there early, we can recuperate and take part in the spring examination.”

Wu Li Shi was really frightened by her grandson’s illness during the xianshi. She thought there was no hope for him to pass the examination, but she didn’t expect that he would be able to become the top scholar. These days, she was busy receiving gifts and had forgetting about arranging her grandson’s journey to the capital to take the examination. She held Yang Shi’s hand and said, “Auntie is thanking you. It’s hard for you to think about Wu Ming. I, an old woman, don’t know much, but fortunately, you are thinking about him. Auntie was really afraid that Wu Ming would get sick again.”

Zhulan comforted her, “Wu Ming is a lucky person. Look, Wu Ming became a top scholar even though he was sick. It shows that he is very blessed.”

Wu Li Shi was really afraid that her grandson would get sick, especially in February when people were prone to getting typhoid fever, which was a life-threatening disease. “I am really afraid. Wu Ming followed you to the capital in advance. I am shamelessly begging you to take care of him because he has no parents.”

Zhulan held Wu Li Shi’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, auntie. I have always treated Wu Ming as my own nephew. We will take good care of him in the capital.”

Wu Li Shi believed what Yang Shi said. Wu Ming was Chang Zhi’s senior brother. The relationship between the two families was closer than before!

Zhulan’s business was done and she was ready to leave. “Aunt, I have to go back to my hometown tomorrow. I have to go to the shop to buy some things for my eldest daughter. I will go back first.”

Wu Li Shi stood up and said, “I’ll take you there.”

“Aunt, please stay.”

Wu Li Shi still insisted on seeing Zhulan to the door and only returned to the house after Zhulan walked away.

Zhulan returned home and took Xue Han to buy cloth and cotton. The cloth they bought was fine cotton cloth for babies, and the cotton was also intended to make quilts for the unborn child.

Zhulan couldn’t take care of Xuemei during her confinement, so she could only buy some more things to take back with her.

This time when they went home, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren brought back a lot of things, most of which were bought for Xuemei.

This time when they return to their hometown, all the Zhou family members would go back. Zhou Shuren and Zhulan would take the eldest son and his wife to the capital, and arrangements would be made for the remaining three sons.

Second Zhou and his family were going to return to their hometown. Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were not at home. Second Zhou was responsible for managing the land in Lijia Village. As for Jiang Sheng, he only needed to manage the 20 acres of land in Zhoujia Village. Jiang Sheng could also take better care of Xuemei.

After Second Zhou and Zhao Shi knew the arrangement, they wanted to go to the capital even more, but they did not dare to refute Zhulan and Zhou Shuren’s decision.

Chang Lian and Dong Shi would be staying in Pingzhou to look after the family. They were not only going to take care of the family but also had to take care of the children who were studying.

This time, Chang Lian had the opportunity to be the boss. Chang Lian and Dong Shi were so scared that they wanted to kneel again. It was only after Zhulan gave them a reason that they felt relieved.

As for Changzhi, it was even easier. He could be sent directly to Jinshi Xu’s house. With Jinshi Xu taking care of him, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren would have nothing to worry about.

(End of this chapter)

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